The night of Fete de la Musique, I wore flip flops as I had just returned from Lisbon and wanted to wear flip flops or sandles. The evening was great and wanted to get back in time to meet Howie. Lynn, Jean-Luc, Theresa and I all split up to take our respective Metro routes home around 12:45 a.m. and my Metro stop was not nearly as crowded as others and was relieved thinking I would arrive home in time to meet Howie.
The time on the Metro clock read 1:02 a.m and I saw the expected arrival of the next Metro to be 20 minutes which is unusual for the Metro further most of the trains were running due to the Fete de la Musique. Just then a train passed by and didn't stop. The driver honked his horn as he ran by. Not a good sign. Soon there was an announcement in French indicating trains had been suspended. Now, I know French words and can understand some of what people are saying however, I do not speak French! All I knew was the trains had been suspended and I needed to get home.
Note: The Metro workers went on strike at 1:02 a.m. during the busiest day of the year. Unions...further, the city officials had no contingency plan if a strike should occur. Unbelievable.
Before we left Theresa and Jean-Luc's apartment that evening, Jean-Luc indicated there maybe a union worker strike. Keep in mind, there are thousands of people throughout the city partying and will eventually need to get home. Oh, did I mention it was raining and I had on flip flops?
As most of you know, I'm stubborn, tenacious and certain I could get home on my own. I tried other Metro stations, bus stops, taxis and my metro map to no avail. By then it's 2:30 a.m. and raining on and off and I'm forced to call Judy and Ekkehard. Ekkehard encourages me to stay on the street where it says Taxi and someone will stop...I tried to explain that I had been standing at another Taxi area and tried to flag them down and no one stopped. Ekkehard assured me they would come but I needed to wait. So, I call Ekkehard after nearly 45 minutes later as not one taxi stopped to pick up e or anyone of the 12 people waiting. I insisted on walking directions as it was late and he couldn't reach me due to the congestion on the streets. I wasn't scared but alert and very aware of my surroundings. It's 3:00 a.m. and I'm on a mission to get home.
With an umbrella in one hand, I begin a jog walk towards home. I did get a piece of glass caught in my heel near the Louvre but was able to remove it so I could continue my evening adventure. Some guy asked me in French if I was OK when I stopped near the river to get the glass out of my heel. I responded and ran. I got spooked when I got to the Champs Elysees as it was dark and there were very few people visible to me, so I ran to the end of the strip which is the Metro stop near Judy and Ekkehard's...Charles De Galle-Etoile. Now, I'm tired, sweaty, have blood dripping from my heel and I'm thirsty but I'm closer than before.
I reached the Faraday apartment at 4:15 a.m. and was to meet Theresa at 10:00 a.m. to go consignment shopping. That was not going to happen and I asked Jude if she would send her an email letting her know I had a late night and would follow up later. I felt bad for Judy and Ekkehard as they were waiting pensively for me to get home safely. My adventure home took roughly 1:15 minutes due in large part to my getting spooked on the Champs Elysees as well as jog walking like a mad woman with an umbrella set to strike at any minute.
It was a great way to see the city.
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